4 Year-Old Son's First Seizure...Why?

On 4/1/09, my husband woke during the night to a hiccup sounding noise coming from our 4 year-old son who was sleeping between us in bed (like usual). At first, my husband thought our son was going to vomit but quickly realized it as a seizure from years in law enforcement. We called 911 immediately. I don't remember our son jerking or convulsing, he was mainly bent inward with arms/legs stiff. In addition, he had saliva coming from his mouth and eyes staring up towards the ceiling. He was completely unresponsive. The actual seizure didn't last long, but it felt like forever. After, he went limp. He was breathing, heart racing fast, and still unresponsive. The EMT's arrived and his vitals were normal, they even pricked his finger. Our son stayed sleeping during the transport to the hospital and for quite a while once he arrived. He didn't wake up until the CT scan, which came back normal. He's scheduled for an EEG on 4/8/09, but has been fine ever since.

On 3/29 and 3/31, our son bumped his head. Once on a flower pot (top of head) and once on the corner of a wall (back of head). Could this have possibly caused the seizure? Also, as previously mentioned, our son likes to sleep in our bed between us. We have a lot of blankets on our bed and raise the air temperature in the evenings as well. Could this cause a seizure? He didn't have a temperature when the paramedics arrived.

We are so scared this will happen again. We've talked to many parents who have stories about their child having one seizure but nothing more. How can we ever be sure? Also, can Sleep Apnea cause seizures? My oldest son has this but no one in our family has ever had a seizure.

You are pretty much doing EXACTLY what you should do! That's very good seeing how it is making your mind (and emotions) race like crazy (I'd guess).

No there is nothing you can really do until they run the battery of tests and scans to see if it is anything physical or chemical in the body. Sometimes these things just happen when children are growing, or after shots from the doctors, or when they are sick (fevers are a frequent cause for non epileptics).

As one who most likely turned my parents hair gray early when I was 5 (my first seizures lasting an hour!) it was a shocker for the family. There is nothing you can do but keep your eye on the child, don't HOVER (trust me, it was annoying) and see what the doctors say.

As for the head trauma, if the impact was SERIOUS it should show on the MRI... but the child may have verbalized or indicated they were hurting on the head/location (head hurts on the inside? or similar comment). The skull can take a pretty serious impact (trust me!). It's nothing to mess with, but any swelling from the skull is something that I would want looked at.

Be sure to keep notes if you notice anything or the child says anything, behavior changes.

Thank you Travis. I have been trying not to hover, but it's hard. I'm scared and feel so helpless not having any answers. I know you're not a doctor, but what does this sound like to you? The seizure happened during the night (3:30am). Our son is usually a restless sleeper and does twitch his fingers/feet while falling sleep. Last night I noticed him breathing heavily (mouth open) almost like he was struggling. FYI, our oldest son has sleep apnea (adnoids and tonsils removed which didn't seem to help). Could he have sleep apnea as well and the seizure was a result of it?

Are there any questions we should be asking or other tests we should request???

It may be too soon to notice this, but do you notice involuntary spasms (possibly seizures?) on ONE side of the body more than the other, or facial expressions (twitches?) altering (the muscle tone) again on one side more than the other?

That can help indicate the SIDE of the brain (if it only occurs in one side (i.e. hemisphere) in cases of seizures). That doesn't always isolate to one side.

Not sure what to say about breathing in general if the body doesn't show symptoms of a seizure. It could be anything or nothing depending what the Family physician (GP) says, if the child gets an "all clear" for other health issues.

Ask what you don't know!!! Ask anything even if it sounds silly! You need to know everything and you are coming from the point of knowing nothing. So feel free to ask the doctor any question even if it sounds crazy!! They know you are worried for your child and want the best for them.

Later on (possibly never) if medication is offered ASK QUESTIONS about it!! Ask if there is anything they need to avoid, ask if it can cause symptoms, ask if sports could be a problem (swimming, horseback riding, soccer), ask if foods could cause problems with the meds... NEVER stop learning (being concerned) for your child so you know when you can say yes and no.

In JrHi I was held back from a lot of sports due to my folks being worried about the remote chance of having a seizure. Mine were so rare it was almost as if I didn't have epilepsy (but I needed to take my meds daily!).

I can go up with friends/family flying in small crafts doing aerobatics at full throttle and it's no problem. It's something I love. I can never get a license on my own, but it's a passion I enjoy doing both on wheel and on floats (water). So no, I try not to let my seizures stop me from having a good time.

It may be too soon to notice this, but do you notice involuntary spasms (possibly seizures?) on ONE side of the body more than the other, or facial expressions (twitches?) altering (the muscle tone) again on one side more than the other?

That can help indicate the SIDE of the brain (if it only occurs in one side (i.e. hemisphere) in cases of seizures). That doesn't always isolate to one side.

Not sure what to say about breathing in general if the body doesn't show symptoms of a seizure. It could be anything or nothing depending what the Family physician (GP) says, if the child gets an "all clear" for other health issues.

Ask what you don't know!!! Ask anything even if it sounds silly! You need to know everything and you are coming from the point of knowing nothing. So feel free to ask the doctor any question even if it sounds crazy!! They know you are worried for your child and want the best for them.

Later on (possibly never) if medication is offered ASK QUESTIONS about it!! Ask if there is anything they need to avoid, ask if it can cause symptoms, ask if sports could be a problem (swimming, horseback riding, soccer), ask if foods could cause problems with the meds... NEVER stop learning (being concerned) for your child so you know when you can say yes and no.

In JrHi I was held back from a lot of sports due to my folks being worried about the remote chance of having a seizure. Mine were so rare it was almost as if I didn't have epilepsy (but I needed to take my meds daily!).

I can go up with friends/family flying in small crafts doing aerobatics at full throttle and it's no problem. It's something I love. I can never get a license on my own, but it's a passion I enjoy doing both on wheel and on floats (water). So no, I try not to let my seizures stop me from having a good time.

--Travis

Thank you again Travis! You asked me about twitching/spasms. I don't notice any of these behaviors coming from our son. I don't see facial or body twitching, other than when he's falling asleep his fingers or feet may twitch lightly (no jerking). I notice zero behaviors that would indicate seizure activity. Hopefully the EEG he had today will offer some answers. Regarding the two times he bumped his head, even the Tech today thought it could be an explanation. I don't know. It's been a shock but I will accept whatever happens and do everything I can to help him. Does what I described sound like he definitely had a seizure? Thank you!